Electronic Devices and Methods of Processing User Utterances

This application is a bypass continuation application of International Application No. PCT/KR2024/008110, filed on Jun. 13, 2024, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0080093, filed on Jun. 22, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0104117, filed on Aug. 9, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an electronic device and a method of processing a user utterance.

Electronic devices equipped with voice assistant functions that provide services based on user utterances are becoming increasingly widespread. An electronic device may recognize a user utterance through an artificial intelligence (AI) server and understand the meaning and intent of the user utterance. The AI server may interpret the user utterance to infer the intent of the user and may perform tasks according to the inferred intent. Through natural language interactions between the user and the AI server, the server may perform tasks based on the expressed intent of the user.

An electronic device equipped with a voice assistant function may sequentially perform an operation of classifying domains for processing user utterances and an operation of performing a task corresponding to a user utterance in a classified domain (e.g., a capsule) (e.g., an application).

The above information may be presented as the related art to help with the understanding of the disclosure. No arguments or decisions are raised to whether any of the above description is applicable as the prior art related to the present disclosure.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device including at least one wireless communication circuit configured to transmit and receive a wireless signal to and from a nearby device positioned around the electronic device; at least one processor operatively connected to the at least one wireless communication circuit; and memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: receive, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic device or the nearby device; based on an analysis result of the utterance, obtain information utilized for machine reading comprehension; obtain additional information related to the utterance by performing the machine reading comprehension based on the information; and based on the additional information, provide the user with a response corresponding to the utterance.

The information utilized for the machine reading comprehension is obtained when the utterance includes at least one of: an unsupported control command; an unsupported parameter value; and a parameter preset to provide the additional information.

The information utilized for the machine reading comprehension includes at least one of information about the electronic device, information about the nearby device, a query for crawling data, crawled data, or a question for obtaining a machine reading comprehension result.

The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: based on the analysis result of the utterance, obtain the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device; based on the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device, generate a query for crawling data; crawl data based on the query; and generate a question for performing the machine reading comprehension on the crawled data.

The additional information is obtained by performing the machine reading comprehension on the crawled data based on the question.

The additional information includes information related to a control action included in the utterance.

According to the utterance, the additional information includes a reason for which the electronic device or the nearby device is unable to be controlled.

The additional information includes guidance for correcting a control action included in the utterance.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device including at least one wireless communication circuit configured to transmit and receive a wireless signal to and from a nearby device positioned around the electronic device; at least one processor operatively connected to the at least one wireless communication circuit; and memory storing instructions,

The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: receive, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic device or the nearby device; based on an analysis result of the utterance, generate a question; and based on the question, provide the user with a response including additional information related to the utterance. The question is utilized for machine reading comprehension.

The question is generated when the utterance includes at least one of: an unsupported control command; an unsupported parameter value; and a parameter preset to provide the additional information.

The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: based on the analysis result of the utterance, obtain information about the electronic device or information about the nearby device; based on the information about the electronic device or the information about the nearby device, generate a query for crawling data; crawl data based on the query; and generate the question for performing the machine reading comprehension on the crawled data.

The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: based on the question, obtain the additional information by performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data; and based on the additional information, provide the user with the response.

The additional information includes information related to a control action included in the utterance.

According to the utterance, the additional information including a reason for which the electronic device or the nearby device is unable to be controlled.

The additional information includes guidance for correcting a control action included in the utterance.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating an electronic device includes receiving, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic device or a nearby device; based on an analysis result of the utterance, obtaining information utilized for machine reading comprehension; obtaining additional information related to the utterance by performing the machine reading comprehension based on the information; and based on the obtaining the additional information, providing the user with a response corresponding to the utterance.

The information utilized for the machine reading comprehension is obtained when the utterance includes at least one of: an unsupported control command; an unsupported parameter value; and a parameter preset to provide the additional information.

The information utilized for the machine reading comprehension includes at least one of information about the electronic device, information about the nearby device, a query for crawling data, crawled data, or a question for obtaining a machine reading comprehension result.

The method further includes based on the information being obtained, generate a query for crawling data; crawl data based on the query; and generate a question for performing the machine reading comprehension on the crawled data. The information utilized for the machine reading comprehension is about the electronic device or the nearby device.

The additional information is obtained by performing the machine reading comprehension on the crawled data based on the question.

Hereinafter, embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. When describing the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals refer to like components and a repeated description related thereto will be omitted.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 101 100 101 100 102 198 104 108 199 101 104 108 101 120 130 150 155 160 170 176 177 178 179 180 188 189 190 196 197 178 101 101 176 180 197 160 is a block diagram of an electronic devicein a network environmentaccording to an embodiment. Referring to, the electronic devicein the network environmentmay communicate with an electronic devicevia a first network(e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or at least one of an electronic deviceor a servervia a second network(e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay communicate with the electronic devicevia the server. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay include a processor, memory, an input module, a sound output module, a display module, an audio module, a sensor module, an interface, a connecting terminal, a haptic module, a camera module, a power management module, a battery, a communication module, a subscriber identification module (SIM), or an antenna module. In some embodiments, at least one of the components (e.g., the connecting terminal) may be omitted from the electronic device, or one or more other components may be added to the electronic device. In some embodiments, some of the components (e.g., the sensor module, the camera module, or the antenna module) may be implemented as a single component (e.g., the display module).

120 140 101 120 120 176 190 132 132 134 120 121 123 121 101 121 123 123 121 123 121 The processormay execute, for example, software (e.g., a program) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic devicecoupled with the processor, and may perform various data processing or computation. According to an embodiment, as at least part of data processing or computation, the processormay store a command or data received from another component (e.g., the sensor moduleor the communication module) in volatile memory, process the command or the data stored in the volatile memory, and store resulting data in non-volatile memory. According to an embodiment, the processormay include a main processor(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), or an auxiliary processor(e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with the main processor. For example, when the electronic deviceincludes the main processorand the auxiliary processor, the auxiliary processormay be adapted to consume less power than the main processor, or to be specific to a specified function. The auxiliary processormay be implemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor.

123 160 176 190 101 121 121 121 121 123 180 190 123 123 101 108 The auxiliary processormay control at least some of functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the display module, the sensor module, or the communication module) among the components of the electronic device, instead of the main processorwhile the main processoris in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processorwhile the main processoris in an active state (e.g., executing an application). According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor(e.g., an ISP or a CP) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera moduleor the communication module) functionally related to the auxiliary processor. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor(e.g., an NPU) may include a hardware structure specified for artificial intelligence (AI) model processing. An AI model may be generated through machine learning. Such learning may be performed, e.g., by the electronic devicewhere the AI is performed or via a separate server (e.g., the server). Learning algorithms may include, but are not limited to, e.g., supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning. The AI model may include a plurality of artificial neural network layers. The artificial neural network may be a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), a deep Q-network or a combination of two or more thereof but is not limited thereto. The AI model may, additionally or alternatively, include a software structure other than the hardware structure.

130 120 176 101 140 130 132 134 The memorymay store various data used by at least one component (e.g., the processoror the sensor module) of the electronic device. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., the program) and input data or output data for a command related thereto. The memorymay include the volatile memoryor the non-volatile memory.

140 130 142 144 146 The programmay be stored in the memoryas software, and may include, for example, an operating system (OS), middleware, or an application.

150 120 101 101 150 The input modulemay receive a command or data to be used by another component (e.g., the processor) of the electronic device, from the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device. The input modulemay include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

155 101 155 The sound output modulemay output sound signals to the outside of the electronic device. The sound output modulemay include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record. The receiver may be used for receiving incoming calls. According to an embodiment, the receiver may be implemented as separate form, or as part of the speaker.

160 101 160 160 The display modulemay visually provide information to the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device. The display modulemay include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and control circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the display modulemay include a touch sensor adapted to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor adapted to measure the intensity of force incurred by the touch.

170 170 150 155 102 101 The audio modulemay convert a sound into an electrical signal or vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio modulemay obtain the sound via the input module, or output the sound via the sound output moduleor an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic devicesuch as a speaker or headphones) directly or wirelessly connected to the electronic device.

176 101 101 176 The sensor modulemay detect an operational state (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic deviceor an environmental state (e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device, and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor modulemay include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

177 101 102 177 The interfacemay support one or more specified protocols to be used for the electronic deviceto be coupled with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device) directly (e.g., wired) or wirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interfacemay include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface.

178 101 102 178 The connecting terminalmay include a connector via which the electronic devicemay be physically connected with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device). According to an embodiment, the connecting terminalmay include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

179 179 The haptic modulemay convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinesthetic sensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic modulemay include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator.

180 180 The camera modulemay capture a still image and moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera modulemay include one or more lenses, image sensors, ISPs, or flashes.

188 101 188 The power management modulemay manage power supplied to the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the power management modulemay be implemented as at least part of, for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

189 101 189 The batterymay supply power to at least one component of the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the batterymay include, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, a secondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell.

190 101 102 104 108 190 120 190 192 194 104 198 199 192 101 198 199 196 The communication modulemay support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic deviceand the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device, the electronic device, or the server) and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication modulemay include one or more CPs that are operable independently from the processor(e.g., an AP) and that support a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication modulemay include a wireless communication module(e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module(e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication (PLC) module). A corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic devicevia the first network(e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™, wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or the second network(e.g., a long-range communication network, such as a legacy cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or a wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multiple components (e.g., multiple chips) separate from each other. The wireless communication modulemay identify and authenticate the electronic devicein a communication network, such as the first networkor the second network, using subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the SIM.

192 192 192 192 101 104 199 192 The wireless communication modulemay support a 5G network, after a 4G network, and next-generation communication technology, e.g., new radio (NR) access technology. The NR access technology may support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), or ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC). The wireless communication modulemay support a high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band) to achieve, e.g., a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication modulemay support various technologies for securing performance on a high-frequency band, such as, e.g., beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (massive MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication modulemay support various requirements specified in the electronic device, an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device), or a network system (e.g., the second network). According to an embodiment, the wireless communication modulemay support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for implementing eMBB, loss coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for implementing mMTC, or U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for each of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or a round trip of 1 ms or less) for implementing URLLC.

197 101 197 197 198 199 190 190 197 The antenna modulemay transmit or receive a signal or power to or from the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the antenna modulemay include an antenna including a radiating element composed of a conductive material or a conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment, the antenna modulemay include a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas). In such a case, at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in the communication network, such as the first networkor the second network, may be selected, for example, by the communication modulefrom the plurality of antennas. The signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication moduleand the external electronic device via the at least one selected antenna. According to an embodiment, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other than the radiating element may be additionally formed as part of the antenna module.

197 According to an embodiment, the antenna modulemay form a mmWave antenna module. According to an embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a PCB, an RFIC disposed on a first surface (e.g., the bottom surface) of the PCB, or adjacent to the first surface and capable of supporting a designated high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas) disposed on a second surface (e.g., the top or a side surface) of the PCB, or adjacent to the second surface and capable of transmitting or receiving signals of the designated high-frequency band.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutually and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) there between via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)).

101 104 108 199 102 104 101 101 102 104 108 101 101 101 101 101 104 108 104 108 199 101 According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic deviceand the external electronic devicevia the servercoupled with the second network. Each of the external electronic devicesormay be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from the electronic device. According to an embodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronic devicemay be executed at one or more of the external electronic devices,, or. For example, if the electronic deviceshould perform a function or a service automatically, or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device, instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service, may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the function or the service. The one or more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least part of the function or the service requested, or an additional function or an additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome of the performing to the electronic device. The electronic devicemay provide the outcome, with or without further processing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. The electronic devicemay provide ultra low-latency services using, e.g., distributed computing or MEC. In another embodiment, the external electronic devicemay include an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device. The servermay be an intelligent server using machine learning and/or a neural network. According to an embodiment, the external electronic deviceor the servermay be included in the second network. The electronic devicemay be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology or IoT-related technology.

2 FIG. is a block diagram illustrating an integrated intelligence system according to an embodiment.

2 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 20 201 101 200 108 300 108 Referring to, an integrated intelligence systemaccording to an embodiment may include an electronic device(e.g., the electronic deviceof), an intelligent server(e.g., the serverof), and a service server(e.g., the serverof).

201 The electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment may be a terminal device (or an electronic device) connectable to the Internet, and may be, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, a television (TV), a white home appliance, a wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), or a smart speaker.

201 202 177 206 150 205 155 204 160 207 130 203 120 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. According to the shown embodiment, the electronic devicemay include a communication interface(e.g., the interfaceof), a microphone(e.g., the input moduleof), a speaker(e.g., the sound output moduleof), a display module(e.g., the display moduleof), memory(e.g., the memoryof), or a processor(e.g., the processorof). The components listed above may be operationally or electrically connected to one another.

202 206 205 The communication interfaceaccording to an embodiment may be connected to an external device and configured to transmit and receive data to and from the external device. The microphoneaccording to an embodiment may receive a sound (e.g., a user utterance) and convert the sound into an electrical signal. The speakeraccording to an embodiment may output the electrical signal as a sound (e.g., a speech).

204 204 204 204 204 The display moduleaccording to an embodiment may be configured to display an image or video. The display moduleaccording to an embodiment may also display a graphical user interface (GUI) of an app (or an application program) being executed. The display moduleaccording to an embodiment may receive a touch input through a touch sensor. For example, the display modulemay receive a text input through a touch sensor in an on-screen keyboard area displayed in the display module.

207 209 208 211 209 208 209 208 The memoryaccording to an embodiment may store a client module, a software development kit (SDK), and a plurality of applications. The client moduleand the SDKmay configure a framework (or a solution program) for performing general-purpose functions. In addition, the client moduleor the SDKmay configure a framework for processing a user input (e.g., a voice input, a text input, or a touch input).

211 207 211 211 1 211 2 211 211 203 The plurality of applicationsstored in the memoryaccording to an embodiment may be programs for performing designated functions. According to an embodiment, the plurality of applicationsmay include a first application_and a second application_. According to an embodiment, each of the plurality of applicationsmay include a plurality of actions for performing a designated function. For example, the applications may include an alarm app, a messaging app, and/or a scheduling app. According to an embodiment, the plurality of applicationsmay be executed by the processorto sequentially execute at least a portion of the plurality of actions.

203 201 203 202 206 205 204 The processoraccording to an embodiment may control the overall operation of the electronic device. For example, the processormay be electrically connected to the communication interface, the microphone, the speaker, and the display moduleto perform a designated operation.

203 207 203 209 208 203 211 208 209 208 203 The processoraccording to an embodiment may also perform the designated function by executing the program stored in the memory. For example, the processormay execute at least one of the client moduleor the SDKto perform the following operation for processing a user input. The processormay control the actions of the plurality of applicationsthrough, for example, the SDK. The following operation which is the operation of the client moduleor the SDKmay be performed by the processor.

209 209 206 209 204 209 209 201 201 209 200 209 201 200 The client moduleaccording to an embodiment may receive a user input. For example, the client modulemay receive a voice signal corresponding to a user utterance sensed through the microphone. As another example, the client modulemay receive a touch input sensed through the display module. As still another example, the client modulemay receive a text input sensed through a keyboard or an on-screen keyboard. In addition, the client modulemay receive various types of user inputs sensed through an input module included in the electronic deviceor an input module connected to the electronic device. The client modulemay transmit the received user input to the intelligent server. The client modulemay transmit state information of the electronic devicetogether with the received user input to the intelligent server. The state information may be, for example, execution state information of an app.

209 200 209 209 204 209 205 The client moduleaccording to an embodiment may receive a result corresponding to the received user input. For example, when the intelligent serveris capable of calculating a result corresponding to the received user input, the client modulemay receive the result corresponding to the received user input. The client modulemay display the received result on the display module. Furthermore, the client modulemay output the received result in an audio form through the speaker.

209 209 204 209 204 205 201 204 205 The client moduleaccording to an embodiment may receive a plan corresponding to the received user input. The client modulemay display results of executing a plurality of actions of an app according to the plan on the display module. For example, the client modulemay sequentially display the results of executing the plurality of actions on the display moduleand output the results in an audio form through the speaker. As another example, the electronic devicemay display only a portion of the results of executing the plurality of actions (e.g., a result of the last action) on the display moduleand output the portion of the results in an audio form through the speaker.

209 200 209 200 According to an embodiment, the client modulemay receive a request for obtaining information necessary for calculating a result corresponding to the user input from the intelligent server. According to an embodiment, the client modulemay transmit the necessary information to the intelligent serverin response to the request.

209 200 200 The client moduleaccording to an embodiment may transmit information on the results of executing the plurality of actions according to the plan to the intelligent server. The intelligent servermay confirm that the received user input is correctly processed using the information on the results.

209 209 209 The client moduleaccording to an embodiment may include a speech recognition module. According to an embodiment, the client modulemay recognize a voice input for performing a limited function through the speech recognition module. For example, the client modulemay execute an intelligent app for processing a voice input to perform an organic operation through a designated input (e.g., Wake up!).

200 201 200 200 The intelligent serveraccording to an embodiment may receive information related to a user voice input from the electronic devicethrough a communication network. According to an embodiment, the intelligent servermay change data related to the received voice input to text data. According to an embodiment, the intelligent servermay generate a plan for performing a task corresponding to the user voice input based on the text data.

According to an embodiment, the plan may be generated by an AI system. The AI system may be a rule-based system or a neural network-based system (e.g., a feedforward neural network (FNN) or a recurrent neural network (RNN)). Alternatively, the AI system may be a combination of the above-described systems or other AI systems. According to an embodiment, the plan may be selected from a set of pre-defined plans or may be generated in real time in response to a user request. For example, the AI system may select at least one plan from the pre-defined plans.

200 201 201 201 204 201 204 The intelligent serveraccording to an embodiment may transmit a result according to the generated plan to the electronic deviceor transmit the generated plan to the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay display the result according to the plan on the display module. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay display a result of executing an action according to the plan on the display module.

200 215 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 The intelligent serveraccording to an embodiment may include a front end, a natural language platform, a capsule database (DB), an execution engine, an end UI, a management platform, a big data platform, or an analytic platform.

215 201 215 The front endaccording to an embodiment may receive the received user input from the electronic device. The front endmay transmit a response corresponding to the user input.

220 221 223 225 227 229 According to an embodiment, the natural language platformmay include an automatic speech recognition (ASR) module, a natural language understanding (NLU) module, a planner module, a natural language generator (NLG) module, or a text-to-speech (TTS) module.

221 201 223 223 223 223 223 The ASR moduleaccording to an embodiment may convert data related to the voice input received from the electronic deviceinto text data. The NLU moduleaccording to an embodiment may determine a domain (and/or intent information) corresponding to a voice input (e.g., a user utterance) based on the text data of the voice input. The domain may correspond to a category (or a service) associated with an action (or a function) that the user intends to execute using a device. The domain may be classified based on a service (e.g., an app) related to text. For example, a Gracenote domain may correspond to a music search service (e.g., a Gracenote service). A Melon domain may correspond to a music streaming service (e.g., a Melon service). The domain may be associated with intent information corresponding to text. The NLU moduleaccording to an embodiment may discern a user intent using the text data of the voice input. For example, the NLU modulemay discern an intent of a user by performing syntactic analysis or semantic analysis on a user input in the form of text data. The NLU moduleaccording to an embodiment may discern a meaning of a word extracted from the user input using a linguistic feature (e.g., a grammatical element) of a morpheme or a phrase and may determine the intent of the user by matching the discerned meaning of the word to an intent. The NLU modulemay obtain intent information corresponding to a user utterance. The intent information may be information indicating an intention of the user determined through an analysis of the text data. The intent information may include information indicating an action (or function) that the user intends to execute using a device. A slot may be detailed information associated with intent information. A slot may be obtained based on a domain corresponding to an utterance. A slot may be variable information necessary to perform an action. In an embodiment, variable information included in a slot may include a named entity.

225 223 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 230 The planner moduleaccording to an embodiment may generate a plan using a parameter and the intent determined by the NLU module. According to an embodiment, the planner modulemay determine a plurality of domains required to perform a task based on the determined intent. The planner modulemay determine a plurality of actions included in each of the plurality of domains determined based on the intent. According to an embodiment, the planner modulemay determine a parameter required to execute the determined plurality of actions, or a result value output by the execution of the plurality of actions. The parameter and the result value may be defined as a concept of a designated form (or class). Accordingly, the plan may include a plurality of actions and a plurality of concepts determined by the intent of the user. The planner modulemay determine relationships between the plurality of actions and the plurality of concepts stepwise (or hierarchically). For example, the planner modulemay determine an execution order of the plurality of actions determined based on the intent of the user, based on the plurality of concepts. In other words, the planner modulemay determine the execution order of the plurality of actions based on the parameter required for the execution of the plurality of actions and results output by the execution of the plurality of actions. Accordingly, the planner modulemay generate a plan including connection information (e.g., ontology) on connections between the plurality of actions and the plurality of concepts. The planner modulemay generate the plan using information stored in the capsule DBthat stores a set of relationships between concepts and actions.

227 229 The NLG moduleaccording to an embodiment may change designated information to a text form. The information changed to the text form may be in the form of a natural language utterance. The TTS moduleaccording to an embodiment may change information in a text form to information in a speech form.

220 201 According to an embodiment, some or all of the functions of the natural language platformmay be implemented in the electronic deviceas well.

230 230 230 The capsule DBmay store information on the relationships between the plurality of concepts and actions corresponding to the plurality of domains. A capsule according to an embodiment may include a plurality of action objects (or action information) and concept objects (or concept information) included in the plan. According to an embodiment, the capsule DBmay store a plurality of capsules in the form of a concept action network (CAN). According to an embodiment, the plurality of capsules may be stored in a function registry included in the capsule DB.

230 230 230 201 230 230 230 230 201 The capsule DBmay include a strategy registry that stores strategy information necessary for determining a plan corresponding to a voice input. The strategy information may include reference information for determining one plan when a plurality of plans corresponding to the voice input are present. According to an embodiment, the capsule DBmay include a follow-up registry that stores information on follow-up actions for suggesting a follow-up action to the user in a designated situation. The follow-up action may include, for example, a follow-up utterance. According to an embodiment, the capsule DBmay include a layout registry that stores layout information that is information output through the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the capsule DBmay include a vocabulary registry that stores vocabulary information included in capsule information. According to an embodiment, the capsule DBmay include a dialog registry that stores information on a dialog (or an interaction) with a user. The capsule DBmay update the stored objects through a developer tool. The developer tool may include, for example, a function editor for updating an action object or a concept object. The developer tool may include a vocabulary editor for updating a vocabulary. The developer tool may include a strategy editor for generating and registering a strategy for determining a plan. The developer tool may include a dialog editor for generating a dialog with a user. The developer tool may include a follow-up editor capable of activating a subsequent goal and editing a subsequent utterance that provides hints. The subsequent goal may be determined based on a currently configured goal, a preference of a user, or environmental conditions. In an embodiment, the capsule DBmay also be implemented in the electronic device.

240 250 201 201 260 200 270 280 200 280 200 The execution engineaccording to an embodiment may calculate a result using the generated plan. The end UImay transmit the calculated result to the electronic device. Accordingly, the electronic devicemay receive the result and provide the received result to the user. The management platformaccording to an embodiment may manage information used in the intelligent server. The big data platformaccording to an embodiment may collect data of the user. The analytic platformaccording to an embodiment may manage a quality of service (QoS) of the intelligent server. For example, the analytic platformmay manage the components and processing rate (or efficiency) of the intelligent server.

300 201 300 300 200 230 300 200 The service serveraccording to an embodiment may provide a designated service (e.g., food order or hotel reservation) to the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the service servermay be a server operated by a library administrator. The service servermay provide information to be used for generating a plan corresponding to the received user input to the intelligent server. The provided information may be stored in the capsule DB. In addition, the service servermay provide result information according to the plan to the intelligent server.

20 201 In the integrated intelligence systemdescribed above, the electronic devicemay provide various intelligent services to the user in response to a user input. The user input may include, for example, an input through a physical button, a touch input, or a voice input.

201 201 In an embodiment, the electronic devicemay provide a speech recognition service through an intelligent app (or a speech recognition app) stored therein. In this case, for example, the electronic devicemay recognize a user utterance or a voice input received through the microphone and provide a service corresponding to the recognized voice input to the user.

201 201 In an embodiment, the electronic devicemay perform a designated action alone or together with the intelligent server and/or the service server, based on the received voice input. For example, the electronic devicemay execute an app corresponding to the received voice input and perform a designated action through the executed app.

201 200 300 201 206 201 200 202 In an embodiment, when the electronic deviceprovides a service together with the intelligent serverand/or the service server, the electronic devicemay detect a user utterance using the microphoneand generate a signal (or voice data) corresponding to the detected user utterance. The electronic devicemay transmit the voice data to the intelligent serverusing the communication interface.

200 201 The intelligent serveraccording to an embodiment may generate, as a response to the voice input received from the electronic device, a plan for performing a task corresponding to the voice input or a result of performing an action according to the plan. The plan may include, for example, a plurality of actions for performing a task corresponding to a voice input of a user, and a plurality of concepts related to the plurality of actions. The concepts may be defined as parameters that are input for execution of the plurality of actions or result values that are output by execution of the plurality of actions. The plan may include connection information on connections between the plurality of actions and the plurality of concepts.

201 202 201 201 205 201 204 The electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment may receive the response using the communication interface. The electronic devicemay output a voice signal generated inside the electronic deviceto the outside using the speaker, or may output an image generated inside the electronic deviceto the outside using the display module.

3 FIG. is a diagram illustrating a form in which relationship information on relationships between concepts and actions is stored in a DB, according to various embodiments.

230 200 400 2 FIG. 2 FIG. A capsule DB (e.g., the capsule DBof) of the intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent serverof) may store capsules in the form of a CAN. The capsule DB may store an action for processing a task corresponding to a voice input of a user and a parameter necessary for the action in the form of a CAN.

401 404 401 402 403 410 420 The capsule DB may store a plurality of capsules (a capsule Aand a capsule B) respectively corresponding to a plurality of domains. According to an embodiment, one capsule (e.g., the capsule A) may correspond to one domain (e.g., a location (geo) or an application). In addition, one capsule may correspond to at least one service provider (e.g., CP 1or CP 2) for performing a function for a domain related to the capsule. According to an embodiment, one capsule may include at least one actionand at least one conceptto perform a designated function.

220 225 407 4011 4013 4012 4014 401 4041 4042 404 2 FIG. 2 FIG. A natural language platform (e.g., the natural language platformof) may generate a plan for performing a task corresponding to the received voice input using the capsules stored in the capsule DB. For example, a planner module (e.g., the planner moduleof) of the natural language platform may generate a plan using the capsules stored in the capsule DB. For example, a planmay be generated using actionsandand conceptsandof the capsule Aand an actionand a conceptof the capsule B.

4 FIG. is a diagram illustrating a screen of an electronic device processing a received voice input through an intelligent app, according to various embodiments.

201 200 2 FIG. An electronic devicemay execute an intelligent app to process a user input through an intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent serverof).

310 201 201 201 311 204 160 204 201 201 201 313 204 1 FIG. 2 FIG. According to an embodiment, on a screen, when a designated voice input (e.g., Wake up!) is recognized or an input through a hardware key (e.g., a dedicated hardware key) is received, the electronic devicemay execute an intelligent app for processing the voice input. The electronic devicemay execute the intelligent app, for example, in a state in which a scheduling app is executed. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay display an object (e.g., an icon)corresponding to the intelligent app on the display module(e.g., the display moduleofor the display moduleof). According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay receive a voice input by a user utterance. For example, the electronic devicemay receive a voice input of “Tell me this week's schedule.” According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay display a UI(e.g., an input window) of the intelligent app in which text data of the received voice input is displayed on the display module.

320 201 204 201 204 According to an embodiment, on a screen, the electronic devicemay display a result corresponding to the received voice input on the display module. For example, the electronic devicemay receive a plan corresponding to the received user input and display “this week's schedule” on the display moduleaccording to the plan.

5 FIG. is a diagram illustrating an operation of an electronic device to process an utterance of a user, according to an embodiment.

5 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 2 FIG. 1 4 FIGS.to 501 101 201 601 200 501 601 Referring to, according to an embodiment, an electronic devicemay include at least some components of the electronic devicedescribed with reference toand the electronic devicedescribed with reference to. An intelligent servermay include at least some components of the intelligent serverdescribed with reference to. With respect to the electronic deviceand the intelligent server, repeated descriptions provided with reference toare omitted.

501 101 201 601 200 501 601 501 102 104 501 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 2 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. According to an embodiment, the electronic device(e.g., the electronic deviceofor the electronic deviceof) may be connected to the intelligent server(e.g., the intelligent serverof) via a LAN, a WAN, a value-added network (VAN), a mobile radio communication network, a satellite communication network, or any combination thereof. The electronic deviceand the intelligent servermay communicate with each other through a wired communication method or a wireless communication method (e.g., a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, ZigBee, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), ultra-wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), and near-field communication (NFC)). The electronic device () may communicate with a nearby device (e.g., the electronic deviceofor the electronic deviceof) positioned around the electronic device.

501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay be implemented as at least one of a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a speaker (e.g., an AI speaker), a video phone, an e-book reader, a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a netbook computer, a workstation, a server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), an MP3 player, a mobile medical device, a camera, or a wearable device.

501 601 601 601 601 501 601 601 501 601 200 601 501 220 501 2 FIG. 2 4 FIGS.to According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay obtain a voice signal corresponding to an utterance of a user and may transmit the voice signal to the intelligent server. The intelligent servermay obtain text data corresponding to the utterance of the user based on the voice signal. The text data may be obtained by converting a voice part into computer-readable text by performing ASR on the voice signal. The intelligent servermay analyze the utterance of the user using the text data. The intelligent servermay perform a required function using an analysis result (e.g., intent information, an entity, and/or a capsule) or may provide a response (e.g., a question and an answer) to be provided to a user to a device (e.g., the electronic device). The intelligent servermay be implemented as software. Some or all of the intelligent servermay be implemented in the electronic deviceand/or the intelligent server(e.g., the intelligent serverof). On-device AI for processing an utterance without communication with the intelligent servermay be installed in the electronic device. Components, such as the natural language platformdescribed with reference to, may be implemented in the electronic device.

221 220 223 220 2 FIG. According to an embodiment, the ASR module(e.g., the ASR module of) included in the natural language platformmay convert a user utterance into text data. The NLU moduleincluded in the natural language platformmay determine a domain (and/or intent information) corresponding to the user utterance based on the text data corresponding to the user utterance.

According to an embodiment, the domain may correspond to a category (or a service) associated with an action (or a function) that the user intends to execute using a device. The domain may be classified based on a service (e.g., an app) related to a user utterance. For example, the Gracenote domain may correspond to a music search service (e.g., the Gracenote service). For example, the Melon domain may correspond to a music play service (e.g., the Melon service). A plurality of user utterances may be respectively processed based on respective domains corresponding thereto. A task corresponding to a user utterance may be processed in a capsule (e.g., an application). One capsule may correspond to one domain. One capsule may include at least one action for performing a designated function and at least one concept. A capsule may process a task corresponding to a user utterance based on intent information. The intent information may be determined in the capsule or in an NLU module.

According to an embodiment, the intent information may be information indicating the intent of the user determined by interpreting text data. The intent information may include information indicating an action (or a function) that the user intends to execute using a device.

According to an embodiment, a slot may be detailed information related to the intent information. The slot may be variable information necessary to perform an action. For example, when the text converted from a voice input of the user is “What time is it in San Francisco?,” the domain may be a ‘date & time domain,’ the intent information may correspond to ‘date/time information provision,’ the slot may be ‘San Francisco,’ and the capsule (e.g., an application) may provide the user with the time in San Francisco. For example, when the text converted from the voice input of the user is “How's the weather here?,” the domain may be a ‘weather domain,’ the intent information may correspond to ‘weather information provision,’ and the slot may be ‘current location.’ The capsule may provide the user with the weather at the current location. For example, when the text converted from the voice input of the user is “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees,” the domain may be a ‘device control domain (e.g., SmarThings),’ the intent information may correspond to ‘oven control,’ the slot may be ‘300 degrees,’ and the capsule may attempt to set the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

501 501 501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension for voice assistant-based device control. The electronic devicemay obtain additional information through machine reading comprehension when additional information is needed to respond to a user utterance. A user utterance utilizing a voice assistant may be classified into two categories. The two categories may include a command category for controlling an electronic device or causing the electronic device to control another nearby device and a question-and-answer category for querying through the electronic device and obtaining an answer. The electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension to handle a user utterance corresponding to a command category.

5 FIG. 501 501 501 501 Referring to, according to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay receive an utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) from the user. The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may be an utterance that controls a nearby device (e.g., an oven) (not shown). The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees) (e.g., when a slot value (e.g., 300) exceeds a setting range). Additional information may be needed to respond to the utterance, so the electronic devicemay obtain additional information (e.g., settable temperature of the oven) (e.g., 100 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less) through machine reading comprehension. Based on the additional information (e.g., the settable temperature of the oven is 100 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less), the electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “According to the manual, the oven temperature may be set between 100 and 250 degrees”) corresponding to the utterance. The electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension for voice assistant-based device control.

501 501 501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay provide a reason for a failure (and/or a reason for a success) of a voice assistant action by utilizing a machine reading comprehension result. The electronic devicemay enhance usability and user understanding of the voice assistant action by providing the reason for the failure (and/or the reason for the success) of the voice assistant action. The electronic devicemay guide the user to a correct control command by utilizing the machine reading comprehension result.

501 501 601 501 According to an embodiment, some or all operations performed by the electronic devicemay be performed by the electronic deviceand/or the intelligent server. Hereinafter, a description is provided based on an assumption that the electronic deviceperforms the operations.

6 FIG. is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

6 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 2 FIG. 5 FIG. 2 4 FIGS.to 1 4 FIGS.to 501 101 201 200 601 501 220 501 501 Referring to, according to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay include at least some components of the electronic devicedescribed with reference toand the electronic devicedescribed with reference to. As described above, on-device AI for processing an utterance without communication with an intelligent server (e.g., the intelligent serverofor the intelligent serverof) may be installed on the electronic device. In other words, the natural language platformdescribed with reference tomay be implemented in the electronic device. With respect to the electronic device, repeated descriptions provided with reference toare omitted.

501 510 192 510 102 104 501 501 520 120 203 501 530 130 207 520 530 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay include a wireless communication module(e.g., the wireless communication moduleof). The wireless communication modulemay communicate with a nearby device (e.g., the electronic deviceofor the electronic deviceof) positioned around the electronic device. The electronic devicemay include a processor(e.g., the processorofor the processorof). The electronic devicemay include memory(e.g., the memoryofor the memoryof). The processor(e.g., an AP) may execute instructions by accessing the memory.

530 530 530 530 520 501 501 501 1 6 FIGS.to 7 14 FIGS.to According to an embodiment, the memorymay include one or more memories. The instructions stored in the memorymay be stored in one memory. The instructions stored in the memorymay be divided and stored in a plurality of memories. The instructions stored in the memorymay be executed by the processorand cause the electronic deviceto perform and/or control the operations of the electronic devicedescribed with reference toand the operations of the electronic devicedescribed with reference to.

520 520 520 530 500 501 501 530 501 501 501 1 6 FIGS.to 7 14 FIGS.to 1 6 FIGS.to 7 14 FIGS.to According to an embodiment, the processormay be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) or circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry) such as an integrated circuit (IC). The processormay include at least one processor. For example, the processormay include a combination of one or more processors, such as a CPU, a GPU, a micro processing unit (MPU), an AP, and a CP. The instructions stored in the memorymay be executed by one processor and cause the communication deviceto perform and/or control the operations of the electronic devicedescribed with reference toand the operations of the electronic devicedescribed with reference to. The instructions stored in the memorymay be executed by a plurality of processors to cause the electronic deviceto perform and/or control the operations of the electronic devicedescribed with reference toand the operations of the electronic devicedescribed with reference to.

520 501 530 520 501 530 520 According to an embodiment, the instructions may be executed by the processorindividually or collectively to cause the electronic deviceto provide a user with a response. The memorymay store a variety of data used by at least one component (e.g., the processor) of the electronic device. The memorymay store (or cache) data crawled by the processorfor machine reading comprehension.

510 501 According to an embodiment, the wireless communication modulemay receive the user utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”). The user utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may be an utterance that controls the electronic deviceor a nearby device (e.g., an oven).

521 521 521 223 521 2 FIG. According to an embodiment, a domain classifiermay determine a domain (e.g., a device control domain) corresponding to the user utterance. The domain classifiermay determine a capsule (e.g., an application) (e.g., SmarThings) in which the user utterance is processed by determining the domain corresponding to the user utterance. An action of the domain classifiermay correspond to an action of an NLU module (e.g., the NLU moduleof). The domain classifiermay be implemented within the NLU module or may be implemented as a separate module from the NLU module.

521 520 520 520 According to an embodiment, an output of the domain classifiermay include an analysis result (e.g., a domain, intent information, and a slot) of an utterance. The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees) (e.g., this corresponds to a case in which a slot value (e.g., 300) exceeds a setting range). Additional information may be needed to respond to the utterance, so the processormay determine to perform machine reading comprehension. A case in which the processordetermines whether to perform machine reading comprehension may correspond to a case in which the utterance includes an unsupported control command (e.g., a case in which there is no intent information matching the user utterance or the domain (or capsule) in which the user utterance is processed is not determined). A case in which the processordetermines whether to perform machine reading comprehension may correspond to a case (e.g., a case in which additional information is provided according to the pre-settings of an electronic device manufacturer) in which the utterance includes a parameter preset to provide additional information.

520 520 520 520 According to an embodiment, the processormay obtain information utilized for machine reading comprehension. Based on an analysis result of the utterance, the processormay obtain information on the electronic device or information (e.g., model information of an oven) (e.g., model name HSB-N700B) on a nearby device. Based on the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device, the processormay generate a query (e.g., Query (oven temperature, range, HSB-N700B)) for crawling data. Based on the query (e.g., Query (oven temperature, range, HSB-N700B)), the processormay crawl data (e.g., HSB-N700B model manual).

520 530 531 530 501 531 501 501 532 501 532 According to an embodiment, the processormay store (or cache) the crawled data (e.g., HSB-N700B model manual) in the memory. Internal crawling datastored (or cached) in the memorymay be data pre-stored in the electronic device. The internal crawling datamay include a setting value of the electronic deviceand/or data of a nearby device connected to the electronic device. External crawling datamay be data stored outside the electronic device. The external crawling datamay include a manual for a home appliance and/or a post posted on the website of a home appliance manufacturer.

520 According to an embodiment, the processormay generate a question (e.g., “Temperature range of the HSB-N700B model?”) to perform machine reading comprehension on the crawled data (e.g., HSB-N700B model manual). The question may be structured in the form of a query.

522 522 According to an embodiment, a machine reading comprehension enginemay obtain (or extract) additional information (e.g., settable temperature of the HSB-N700B model) (e.g., 100 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less) by performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data (e.g., HSB-N700B model manual) based on the question (e.g., temperature range of the HSB-N700B model?). When there are two or more pieces of extracted additional information, the machine reading comprehension enginemay also rank the pieces of additional information.

522 523 522 522 524 According to an embodiment, the machine reading comprehension enginemay convert the additional information into a format (e.g., in the form of intent information and slots) usable by a capsule. Based on the additional information, the machine reading comprehension enginemay also directly generate a response to provide to the user. The machine reading comprehension enginemay convert the additional information into a format (e.g., a prompt form) usable by a generative model.

523 523 230 523 230 2 FIG. 6 FIG. According to an embodiment, based on the additional information (e.g., the settable temperature of the oven) (e.g., 100 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less), the capsule(e.g., an application) may process the utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”). The capsulemay be stored in the form of the capsule DBof. Although only one capsule (e.g.,) corresponding to an utterance is shown in, it should be noted that a set of capsules may be stored in the capsule DB.

501 501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension for voice assistant-based device control. Before performing a voice assistant action of a capsule (e.g., an application), the electronic devicemay check in advance whether the capsule may perform the voice assistant action and provide a reason for a failure (and/or a reason for a success) of the voice assistant action.

501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay perform machine reading comprehension after performing a domain classification action and performing a voice assistant action in a classified domain to provide the reason for the failure (and/or the reason for the success) of the voice assistant action for the utterance.

501 501 501 According to an embodiment, based on support specifications of the electronic device, the electronic devicemay provide information on whether the user utterance is supported. When the user receives a response indicating that an unsupported utterance is not supported, the user may give up on that utterance. However, by providing information on whether the user utterance is supported, the electronic devicemay elicit a follow-up utterance from the user.

501 501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay generate an answer based on a result of performing machine reading comprehension, thereby reducing the effort required for a developer to predefine an answer for each application. Additionally, the electronic devicemay provide various forms of answers to the user by generating answers based on the result of performing machine reading comprehension.

501 According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay utilize a manual or internal/external databases for generating answers independently of an application, thereby reducing the burden on an application developer and enabling answers through interworking with other devices.

7 13 FIGS.to are diagrams illustrating an operation of an electronic device to process a user utterance, according to an embodiment.

7 FIG. 701 700 700 700 Referring to, in a situation, an electronic devicemay receive, from a user, an utterance (e.g., “Set the volume to 3”). The utterance (e.g., “Set the volume to 3”) may be an utterance that controls (e.g., volume control) the electronic device. The electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “The volume is set to 3”) corresponding to the utterance.

702 501 501 501 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay receive, from the user, the utterance (e.g., “Set the volume to 3”). The utterance (e.g., “Set the volume to 3”) may be an utterance that controls (e.g., volume control) the electronic device. The electronic devicemay obtain additional information (e.g., a settable volume range of the electronic device) (e.g., 1 to 15) through machine reading comprehension. The additional information may include information associated with a control action included in the utterance. Based on the additional information (e.g., the settable volume range of the electronic device is 1 to 15), the electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “The volume is set to 3. The volume may be set from 1 to 15.”). The electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension for voice assistant-based device control. The electronic devicemay provide a reason for a success of a voice assistant action by utilizing a result of machine reading comprehension.

8 FIG. 801 800 800 Referring to, in a situation, an electronic devicemay receive, from a user, an utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”). The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may be an utterance that controls (e.g., setting the temperature) a nearby device (e.g., an oven). The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees) (e.g., when a slot value (e.g., 300) exceeds a setting range). The electronic devicemay not process an utterance including an unsupported parameter value, and, accordingly, may need to provide the user with a rejection response (e.g., “Setting the oven to 300 degrees is unavailable”).

802 501 501 501 501 511 512 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay receive, from the user, the utterance (“Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”). The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may be an utterance that controls a nearby device (e.g., an oven) (not shown). The utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees) (e.g., when a slot value (e.g., 300) exceeds a setting range). Additional information may be needed to respond to the utterance, so the electronic devicemay obtain additional information (e.g., the settable temperature of the oven) (e.g., 100 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less) through machine reading comprehension. The additional information may include a reason for which the electronic device or the nearby device is unable to be controlled according to the utterance. The additional information may include guidance on correcting a control action included in the utterance. Based on the additional information (e.g., the settable temperature of the oven is 100 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less), the electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “According to the manual, the oven temperature may be set between 100 and 250 degrees. Shall I set the temperature to 250 degrees?”) corresponding to the utterance. The electronic devicemay present, via the screen, text, a diagram, and/or an image obtained (e.g., captured or crawled) from a manual as a UI. The electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension for voice assistant-based device control. The electronic devicemay provide a reason for a failure of a voice assistant action by utilizing a result of machine reading comprehension. The electronic devicemay guide the user to a correct control command.

9 FIG. 901 801 900 Referring to, a situation, similar to the situation, may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees) in an utterance (e.g., “I'm making pizza, set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”). The electronic devicemay not process an utterance including the unsupported parameter value, and, accordingly, may need to provide the user with a rejection response (e.g., “Setting the oven to 300 degrees is unavailable”).

902 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay obtain additional information (e.g., the temperature of an oven optimized for making pizza) (e.g., 220 degrees) through machine reading comprehension. Based on an utterance analysis result (e.g., oven temperature for making pizza), the electronic devicemay reduce a machine reading comprehension search space. Based on the additional information (e.g., the temperature of the oven for making pizza is 220 degrees), the electronic devicemay provide a user with a response (e.g., “According to the manual, the optimal oven temperature for baking pizza is 220 degrees. Shall I set the temperature to 220 degrees?”) corresponding to the utterance.

10 FIG. 1001 801 901 1000 Referring to, in a situation, similar to the situationsand, an utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees). An electronic devicemay not process an utterance including an unsupported parameter value, and, accordingly, may need to provide the user with a rejection response (e.g., “Setting the oven to 300 degrees is unavailable”).

1002 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay obtain additional information (e.g., settable temperature of the N700B oven) (e.g., 80 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less) through machine reading comprehension. The electronic devicemay on its own crawl and utilize information (e.g., model name N700B) of a nearby device. Based on the additional information (e.g., the settable temperature of the N700B oven is 80 degrees or more and 250 degrees or less), the electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “According to the manual, the temperature of the N700B oven may be set between 80 and 250 degrees. Shall I set the temperature to 250 degrees?”) corresponding to the utterance.

11 FIG. 1101 801 901 1001 1000 Referring to, in a situation, similar to the situations,, and, an utterance (e.g., “Set the oven temperature to 300 degrees”) may include an unsupported parameter value (e.g., 300 degrees). The electronic devicemay not process an utterance including an unsupported parameter value, and, accordingly, may need to provide the user with a rejection response (e.g., “Setting the oven to 300 degrees is unavailable”).

1102 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay ask the user a question (e.g., “Setting the oven to 300 degrees is unavailable”). Shall I look for external information?) to determine whether to perform machine reading comprehension. The electronic devicemay elicit a subsequent utterance from the user and save resources of the electronic deviceby performing machine reading comprehension only at a request of the user.

12 FIG. 1201 1200 1200 1200 Referring to, in a situation, an electronic devicemay receive, from a user, an utterance (e.g., “Reset my phone”). The utterance (e.g., “Reset my phone”) may be an utterance that controls (e.g., resets) the electronic device. The utterance (e.g., “Reset my phone”) may not be supported depending on an external setting. The electronic deviceis only able to provide the user with a rejection response (e.g., “Unable to reset”) for the unsupported utterance.

1202 501 501 501 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay provide the user with information about an external setting (e.g., the electronic deviceis in a family lock state). The electronic devicemay provide a reason for a failure of a voice assistant action. The electronic devicemay provide the user with setting information that the user is not aware of. Based on the external setting information (e.g., the electronic deviceis in a family lock state), the electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “The family lock is currently enabled, so the device may not be reset. Shall I disable the family lock and reset the device?”) corresponding to the utterance.

13 FIG. 1301 1300 1300 1300 Referring to, in a situation, an electronic devicemay receive, from a user, an utterance (e.g., “Turn on game optimizing service (GOS)”). The utterance (e.g., “Turn on GOS”) may be an utterance that controls the electronic device. The electronic devicemay only provide the user with a simple response (e.g., “GOS is turned on”) corresponding to the utterance.

1302 501 501 501 501 501 According to an embodiment, in a situation, the electronic devicemay receive the utterance (e.g., “Turn on GOS”). The utterance (e.g., “Turn on GOS”) may be an utterance that controls the electronic device. The utterance (e.g., “Turn on GOS”) may include a parameter preset to provide additional information (e.g., a case in which additional information is provided based on the pre-settings of an electronic device manufacturer). The electronic devicemay obtain additional information (e.g., GOS-related information) through machine reading comprehension. Based on the additional information (e.g., GOS-related information), the electronic devicemay provide the user with a response (e.g., “GOS is turned on. GOS stands for game optimizing service, which reduces heat during gameplay and . . . ”) corresponding to the utterance. The electronic devicemay utilize machine reading comprehension for voice assistant-based device control.

14 FIG. is a flowchart of a method of operating an electronic device, according to an embodiment.

1410 1440 1410 1440 Operationstomay be performed sequentially but not necessarily. For example, operationstomay be performed in different orders, and at least two operations may be performed in parallel.

1410 1440 520 501 6 FIG. 6 FIG. According to an embodiment, it may be understood that operationstomay be performed by a processor (e.g., the processorof) of an electronic device (e.g., the electronic deviceof).

1410 501 501 102 104 5 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. In operation, the electronic device (e.g., the electronic deviceof) according to an embodiment may receive, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic deviceor a nearby device (e.g., the electronic deviceofor the electronic deviceof).

1420 501 In operation, based on an analysis result of the utterance, the electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment may obtain information utilized for machine reading comprehension.

1430 501 In operation, the electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment may obtain additional information related to the utterance by performing machine reading comprehension based on information utilized for machine reading comprehension.

1440 501 In operation, based on the additional information, the electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment may provide the user with a response corresponding to the utterance.

101 201 501 192 510 102 104 120 203 520 130 207 530 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 5 FIG. 1 FIG. 6 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 6 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 6 FIG. An electronic device (e.g., the electronic deviceof, the electronic deviceof, or the electronic deviceof) according to an embodiment may include at least one wireless communication module (e.g., the wireless communication moduleofor the wireless communication moduleof) configured to transmit and receive a wireless signal to and from a nearby device (e.g., the electronic deviceofor the electronic deviceof) positioned around the electronic device. The electronic device may include at least one processor (e.g., the processorof, the processorof, or the processorof) operatively connected to the wireless communication module. The electronic device may include memory (e.g., the memoryof, the memoryof, or the memoryof) storing instructions. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to receive, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic device or the nearby device. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain information utilized for machine reading comprehension based on an analysis result of the utterance. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain additional information related to the utterance by performing machine reading comprehension based on the information. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to provide the user with a response corresponding to the utterance based on the additional information.

According to an embodiment, the instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain information utilized for the machine reading comprehension when the utterance includes an unsupported control command, when the utterance includes an unsupported parameter value, or when the utterance includes a parameter preset to provide the additional information.

According to an embodiment, the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may include at least one of information on the electronic device, information on the nearby device, a query for crawling data, crawled data, or a question for obtaining a machine reading comprehension result.

According to an embodiment, the instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device based on the analysis result of the utterance. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to generate a query for crawling data based on the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to crawl data based on the query. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to generate a question for performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data.

According to an embodiment, the instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain the additional information by performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data based on the question.

According to an embodiment, the additional information may include information related to a control action included in the utterance.

According to an embodiment, according to the utterance, the additional information may include a reason for which the electronic device or the nearby device is unable to be controlled.

According to an embodiment, the additional information may include guidance for correcting the control action included in the utterance.

101 201 501 192 510 102 104 120 203 520 130 207 530 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 5 FIG. 1 FIG. 6 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 6 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 6 FIG. An electronic device (e.g., the electronic deviceof, the electronic deviceof, or the electronic deviceof) according to an embodiment may include at least one wireless communication module (e.g., the wireless communication moduleofor the wireless communication moduleof) configured to transmit and receive a wireless signal to and from a nearby device (e.g., the electronic deviceofor the electronic deviceof) positioned around the electronic device. The electronic device may include at least one processor (e.g., the processorof, the processorof, or the processorof) operatively connected to the wireless communication module. The electronic device may include memory (e.g., the memoryof, the memoryof, or the memoryof) storing instructions. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to receive, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic device or the nearby device. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to generate a question based on an analysis results of the utterance. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to, based on the question, provide the user with a response including the additional information related to the utterance. The question may be utilized for machine reading comprehension.

According to an embodiment, the instructions are executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to generate the question when the utterance includes an unsupported control command, when the utterance includes an unsupported parameter value, or when the utterance includes a parameter preset to provide the additional information.

According to an embodiment, the instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device based on the analysis result of the utterance. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to generate a query for crawling data based on the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to crawl data based on the query. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to generate the question for performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data.

According to an embodiment, the instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to obtain the additional information by performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data based on the question. The instructions may be executed by the processor individually or collectively to cause the electronic device to provide the user with a response based on the additional information.

According to an embodiment, the additional information may include information related to a control action included in the utterance.

According to an embodiment, according to the utterance, the additional information may include a reason for which the electronic device or the nearby device is unable to be controlled.

According to an embodiment, the additional information may include guidance for correcting the control action included in the utterance.

101 201 501 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 5 FIG. A method of operating an electronic device (e.g., the electronic deviceof, the electronic deviceof, or the electronic deviceof) according to an embodiment may include an operation of receiving, from a user, an utterance for controlling the electronic device or a nearby device. Based on the analysis result of the utterance, the method may include an operation of obtaining information utilized for machine reading comprehension. The method may include an operation of obtaining additional information related to the utterance by performing machine reading comprehension based on the information. Based on the additional information, the method may include an operation of providing the user with a response corresponding to the utterance.

According to an embodiment, the operation of obtaining the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may be performed when the utterance includes an unsupported control command, when the utterance includes an unsupported parameter value, or when the utterance includes a parameter preset to provide the additional information.

According to an embodiment, the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may include at least one of information on the electronic device, information on the nearby device, a query for crawling data, crawled data, or a question for obtaining a machine reading comprehension result.

According to an embodiment, the operation of obtaining the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may include, based on an analysis result of the utterance, an operation of obtaining information on the electronic device or information on the nearby device. The operation of obtaining the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may include, based on the information on the electronic device or the information on the nearby device, an operation of generating a query for crawling data. The operation of obtaining the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may include, based on the query, an operation of crawling data. The operation of obtaining the information utilized for the machine reading comprehension may include an operation of generating a question for performing machine reading comprehension for the crawled data.

According to an embodiment, the operation of obtaining the additional information may include, based on the question, an operation of obtaining the additional information by performing machine reading comprehension on the crawled data.

The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic device may include, for example, a portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), a computer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance device. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device is not limited to those described above.

It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technological features set forth herein to particular embodiments and include various changes, equivalents, or replacements for a corresponding embodiment. With regard to the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar or related components. It is to be understood that a singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the things, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C,” may include any one of, or all possible combinations of the items enumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, such terms such as “1st” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another, and do not limit the components in other aspect (e.g., importance or order). It is to be understood that if a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to, with or without the term “operatively” or “communicatively,” as “coupled with,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or “connected to” another component (e.g., a second component), the component may be coupled with the other component directly (e.g., by wire), wirelessly, or via a third component.

As used in connection with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the term “module” may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware and may interchangeably be used with other terms, for example, “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” or “circuitry.” A module may be a single integral component, or a minimum unit or part thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in a form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

1740 1736 1738 1701 1720 1701 Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., a program) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memoryor external memory) that is readable by a machine (e.g., an electronic device). For example, a processor (e.g., a processor) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium and execute it. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), but this term does not differentiate between where the data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where the data is temporarily stored in the storage medium.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments of the disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an application store (e.g., PlayStore™), or between two user devices (e.g., smartphones) directly. If distributed online, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such as memory of the manufacturer's server, a server of the application store, or a relay server.

According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include a single entity or multiple entities, and some of the multiple entities may be separately disposed in different components. According to various embodiments, one or more of the above-described components or operations may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they are performed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components before the integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by the module, the program, or another component may be carried out sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.